Glasses.com: Try on eyewear virtually in clever app

You don't need to have 20/20 vision to see the appeal of the new and free glasses.com app for iPad.

Utilizing what's called "3Dfit" technology, you can try on hundreds of pairs of glasses and sunglasses to see what the frames look like on your face -- and from various angles, no less.

Yes, this app is from the online eyewear retailer, therefore you can buy what you try one, but at least there's no hard sell from them.

Here's how the glasses.com app works:

The first step, which takes less than 2 minutes, is to hold up your iPad (or iPad mini) so that the front-facing camera scans your face as you turn slowly from side-to-side. You're encouraged to hold the tablet up to a bathroom mirror to stabilize the video recording (it works).

Once this is done, you then asked to flip the iPad around towards your mirror and line up a QR code inside an onscreen box by angling the tablet. This aligns your face and confirms where your two eyes are on your face.

Now you're ready to try on some glasses. You'll select what kind of glasses you want, the style and shape, and within a second or two you'll see a virtual pair resting on your captured face. You can then use your fingertip to move your face in a given direction and the glasses stay situated on your nose and over your ears. This 3D rendering with augmented reality is convincingly real (check out the screen shots with this review).

Like to multitask? You can see yourself in multiple windows on the iPad screen, each with a different pair of brand-name glasses and/or sunglasses on your face, not unlike the beginning of The Brady Bunch television show from the '70s.

Other features include adding Instagram-like filters to your face, sharing your look with friends over social media, and of course, buying the frames from within the app, if desired.

The only issue encountered with the app was the occasional crash during the 3D modeling session, which was resolved by powering down and rebooting the iPad.

The glasses.com app is proof retailers are looking for innovative and engaging ways to attract online shoppers – and make it fun in the process.